College Forum - Volume 21, Number 3

Sheryl Sandberg Shares Message Of Resilience

2017-09-19 16:03:23

Sheryl Sandberg knows a lot about hard work and resilience. As the COO of Facebook since 2008, she’s helped dramatically increase revenues at the social media company and built a name for herself as one of today’s most influential tech leaders. She also founded Lean In, a nonprofit named after her best-selling book, to support women’s empowerment. But at a recent visit to Miami Dade College, Sandberg tackled the topic of resilience from a different perspective.
During “An Evening with Sheryl Sandberg,” hosted by Miami Book Fair (MBF) in collaboration with Books &amp; Books and the Children’s Bereavement Center, the tech executive sat down with MDC alumna and syndicated columnist Ana Veciana-Suarez to discuss her latest book, Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience and Finding Joy, which centers on the topic of moving forward after life’s inevitable setbacks.
The book, which Sandberg co-authored with psychologist Adam Grant, was inspired by her late husband, Dave Goldberg, who died suddenly in 2015 at the age of 47. Goldberg was the founder of LAUNCH Media and also had been the CEO of the online survey development software company Survey Monkey.
“Grief, for anyone who’s experienced it, can be completely overwhelming,” Sandberg said at the event. She and Veciana-Suarez also discussed the importance of destigmatizing grief and loss in our society.
“Too often all these hard things in life are greeted with silence,” Sandberg said. “It’s time to start taking these really ugly elephants in the room, start dealing with the hardships and be there for each other.”
The inspiring evening was one of many year-round MBF events giving members of the community an opportunity to meet world-renowned authors and participate in productive conversations on topics that affect people in South Florida and around the world.
“Miami Book Fair’s mission is to promote reading and writing,” said Lissette Mendez, director of programs, Miami Book Fair. “But our hope is that we are also creating experiences that bring people together and foster empathy and a greater understanding of our shared humanity.”